Report: NBA targeting July 31 return

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In a conference call with the NBA's board of governors on Friday, commissioner Adam Silver informed teams that July 31 is a target date for a return to play, sources told The Athletic's Shams Charania.

The NBA season has been on hiatus since March 11 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The league office and its teams have apparently talked about a number of logistical measures in recent days. The parties have discussed the format of the remaining regular-season slate and playoffs, as well as the setting of the games themselves.

Of four potential options presented to top front-office decision-makers in a recent survey, 16 respondents favored resuming the season with only the 16 teams in the playoff picture when the season was halted, ESPN's Tim Bontemps reports.

The second most-popular option, favored by eight teams, was resuming the regular season with all 30 teams, followed by play-in games to determine the final postseason field.

On Saturday, the league confirmed it had entered exploratory talks to play games at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World in Orlando in late July.